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Magic
Magic is real and widely believed in on Tara, though many attribute it to faith rather than a natural phenomena like the Rift. It is, however, rare enough for many to doubt its existence, or at least its effectiveness, especially on Ur. Fundamentals Magic is a poorly understood force in this world and is often flatly denied by men of higher faith and learning. Many cultures believe that the Rift is the source of true magic and the Wake's ebb and flow is tied to life, death, and prophecy. Thanks to its miraculous nature magic is strongly associated with religion. Much of the time it manifests randomly as sparks or boiling water, moving objects, sudden differences in light and temperature, etc. Strong (destructive, awesome) magic is practically unheard of. Elves Warlocks - channeled psychotic aggression into highly ritualized duels that ended with a single stroke Enthrallment - hypnotic speech, beguilement, charm, and intimidation, can speak to deepest desires. Grafting, Amber - Kindred could graft themselves onto living trees, living, dying, and being reborn as Dryads; criminals and great men alike were interred alive in "amber", which preserved them forever (the Dwarves developed a similar process using organic crystal) Scrying Stones - polished, black stones that could be used to communicate instantly across any length of time/space; were actually made of pure Lodestone (material from across the Rift) and were psychically resonant but could cause madness, obsession. Were given as gifts to the Dwarves, which started a religious schism. Winter & Summer Courts - have some degree of control of transmuting matter; Winter can turn gases and liquids into solids through freezing, lower temperature, while Summer does the opposite (and can engender good conditions for life) Where Summer favors rampant growth and decay Winter devotes itself to preservation and survival. They advised the Elvish King in their own respective seasons; there were also smaller Courts, like Bloom and Brume, Frost, and Thaw that had lower standing and less power. Alder-Ri - Elvish Kingship was a matter of succession, but wasn't restricted to any particular lineage. Simply the "purest" Elf was crowned; they had to be physically and mentally whole, in the fullness of strength yet old and wise, and pure-blooded. Disputes over succession were usually settled peacefully; Elves would simply leave Vaalbara and settle elsewhere, in Lands End and Yavanna. The Dominion was created by the first and only Elf dynasty, between Balor the Unhanded and Mab. It lasted many thousands of years and naturally favored the Summer Court over Winter, but ultimately led to the Wars of Accession and the Wailing War. When they began breeding with humans a hierarchy emerged, castes predicated by blood purity that made Full-Blooded "Sidhe" nobles with unlimited rights. Alder-Ri had powerful Wills - they were readily obeyed by most beings, even wild animals, and could enthrall them. Foresight - many Elves could sense the future through repeating patterns, lucid dreaming, and prolonged deja vu (a phenomena experienced by all humans) and had photographic memories. Dreaming Lucid dreaming is considered the same as astral projection, and is an advanced form of meditation. Demons Demons are metaphysical beings that walk among men - and are much like psychopomps, ghosts, and minor gods. No one knows why they exist; whether they're somehow tied to the Rift, or predate it all together. * Mirror, Mirror: a vaguely malevolent being, Mirror reaches out for people who are vain or self-obsessed, appearing in reflections and feeding off their vanity. Like all demons it is bound to tell the truth...when pressed. It was originally forged by the Dwarves to imprison a Demon, and ended up in the possession of Queen Scherazade, sister of Prince Xandar the Unmoved. The demon tried to possess Scherazade, but because she was so vain she poured her soul into the mirror instead, so it could only influence her - giving her long, and unnatural life. Under its influence she poisoned her brother, and later her son, and ruled Amaranth as God-Queen until she was usurped by the Good Masters. * Baathyal, the Void Queen: an old sailor's tale like Calypso, mother of Kraken and bottom feeders, ink black eyes and blood and pale translucent skin. Fickle, dangerous as the sea, claims all who drown out of sight of land. Her domain is the deep, black sea, and the starless skies. She was worshipped by men - the Sea Peoples (Nesoi, Tenneu, Mer), in Yavanna before the Elves, and even in Amaranth and Tiberium. * Shadow: Every man has his shadow, and a quirk of Tara is that sometimes they do whatever they want (including walking away). A shadow is an extension of the subconscious mind. Shadow itself is a trickster, a doppleganger, and a parasite. * Binder: a self aware book (its title is its name), Binder is simple, plain-looking, and leatherbound (in human skin) with rough pages and dark brown ink (human blood). It can't be read the same way twice; interpretations change wildly even for the same reader, and it is written in a queer language that can be read from any angle (even upside down or in mirrors) with new meanings. Interestingly the pages are actually blank; it simply fills the reader's mind and writes itself. It collects the souls of the men who read it; they can never forget what it's told them, and feel as if their inner and reading voices sound strange. * Light: The patron of illusion, illumination, mirage, deception, and hope, Light is insubstantial and has no warmth, and hurts the eyes to look upon him directly. His followers experimented with a vast array of colored glass domes, windows, and lenses to perceive him clearly, and were famous for their beautiful (if disorienting) geometries. His blind priests had a heightened sense of awareness and "enlightenment". Along the Pale Sea he was especially powerful in the failing light or the sky's aurorae. He could be, by turns, gentle, austere, playful, and agonizing. * Lady: A Lilith-like being, full of temptation and innocence, luck, obsession, worshiped by Blood Witches and could possess women in fits of epileptic ecstasy. Favored risk-takers, gamblers, fools, lustful men. * Huron: Was a demon enthralled by the Root of the World; pure dryads (rather than Elves grafted onto trees) are called Huron. * Raven: a trickster, creator, messenger, scavenger, thief, and shapeshifter, and an important figure to the Landsmen and the Fauns. Raven was an old enemy of Elves and Dragons (plucked the eyes out of their demon mother) * Dragon: dragons are not natural creatures; they inherited their unusual attributes (firebreathing, fierce intelligence, cruelty, greed) from their mother, a demon who fed herself to her young after she was blinded by Raven (hence forth all Dragons have an irrational fear birds of prey like ravens, crows, hawks, and the dreaded cockatrice - a three headed rooster). * There are also the Deaths - both Major and Minor - which represent different aspects of mortality, some general while others are uniquely specific to a given person. The Burned Man, the Pale Mare, the Traveler, etc. Language There are some languages that reputedly contained words of power; the Dead Speech was spoken by Blind Fates, the High Speech by the legendary Prydein bards (itself stolen from the Fauns and Elves). There were also words of power that needed repetition, rhythm, and many voices; the shant-chanties of Ys' sea raiders, the simple hymns of Canton's Plainsfolk, or the moaning of a Stele witch. Dwarf Runes Even written languages could hold power - Dwarf runes poured from Lodestone could glow white hot when activated, and when poured into carvings in the Stone it created magical resonance. Acoustors One of the most unusual examples are the duels between Ezeniri's "Acoustors", who project enormous force via beatboxing, chest slapping, clapping. A famous Acoustor supposedly calmed a hurricane with a single word. Faith Prayer provides a kind of special insulation against magic, and is an effective ward so long as the individual has unwavering faith or focus. Any break in concentration can be enough to cancel its protection, so prayer tend to be simple and repetitive. It's likely that miracles and divine wards are simply rebranded magic, and that holymen are just powerful practitioners. Healing hands, restoring senses, and prophesy can also be attributed to Faith, as can "inspiration". Blood Magic Blood magic is powered by sacrifice - often humans or animals, and is considered foul by many civilized peoples. The Blood Witches of Cordele And, by extension, the Riverine of Land's End - are in many ways a people apart from their fellow Landsmen, clinging to beliefs that predate the Elves. Their Blood Witches preside over rituals that follow the Lunar Calendar; human blood plays an important role in these ceremonies; menstrual blood is part of purifying magic, while blood spilled is "dirty" magic. They'd also burn the genitals of the men they castrated (prisoners of war and rapists); allegedly they were all virgins and one among them was sacrificed each year in a cruel reenactment of the trials of Andraste, the god-queen, in which she was gang-raped and beaten for days, then burned alive. They wear hooded red cloaks, have milk pale skin, dark eyes, wear catskin gloves and boots, a short thin dress with a highwaisted girdle. Lands End The Landsmen gave up their firstborn sons to the Elves; some simply left them in the wild, or set them down river in coracles, while others did...worse things. Elves Siorai Elves believed that the blood - or at least blood purity - was the source of their magic, and that it weakened when diluted by breeding with other species. They often spilled their own blood to seal pacts, treaties, and spells. Skindoctors Ezeniri's "Skinwalkers" - wear a number of colorful pelts, skins, feathers, etc. and a skin suit flayed from a human being. They're akin to witchdoctors among bushmen, and tame hyenas. Foresense The Blind Fates of Tiberium were oracles who could foresense death, often going into orgasmic, epileptic states when they foresaw a terrible disaster or war. Their flesh was ice cold, their eyes like cloudy marbles yet seemed to look straight through you, and their cloying perfume smelled like rotting flowers in water. Most were old crones, ugly, and disfigured but some of them were beautiful and unearthly. Only madmen ever lay down with a Bride of Death, producing only stillborn children. Alchemy Alchemy is an old but common trade, typically peddled by swindlers, charlatans, apothecaries, midwives, woodwitches, barbers, and "philosophers". It blends science and mysticism, and is as much about knowledge and observation as it is ceremony. Few alchemists can truly transmute matter - the Jinn alone can do this. Jinn mysterious alchemists and sorcerors, the Jinn are a very old order of immortal beings who dwell in floating monasteries high in the Mountains of Mourn. Their bodies are made of jade, a petrifying process that begins when they start drinking the "Quicksilver" that extends their life for thousands of years until they are merely living statues, meditating for eternity. They understand how to transmute nature - including living flesh, prolonging their lives, and possess the "Third Eye" - an ability to see reality as it truly is, defeating any glamour. They would meditate for years at a time, and rarely left their iron mountains. To this day they are considered holymen among the Mourn, and can magically transmute steel into "Cold Iron" - which can cut through the spells of Elves. They oppose the Elves dominion over Tara - the Elves distrust any race that lives as long - or longer - than they do, and try to either enslave or destroy them (dragons, fauns) Abilities * Pyromancy: more likely to peddle a living as street entertainer, pyromancers have an intuitive understanding of fire. * Divination: oracles can perceive time as a kind of sixth sense - past, present, and all futures being one. These visions often put them in psychoactive or epileptic states, and dwelling on them too long can cause dementia. They have historically been exploited by many faiths. * Healing: In Amaranth magical healing (channeled during sex) could do much to speed recovery, and alchemists often concoct potent salves and antidotes. There are innumerable but somewhat dubious folk remedies, often involving bloodletting, prayer, sacrifice, poultices, healing hands, Moon Tea, etc. * Glamourers: work subtle illusions, often with the help of potent chemicals or sleight of hand rather than magic. Most practitioners rely on glamour to some extent.